The Victories Of Christ For The Believer Sample

Victory over Eternal Death

Hiroo Onoda was a Japanese soldier during World War II who was sent to the Philippines to stop North Americans from advancing. He was an expert in military intelligence with the purpose of sabotaging North Americans in their efforts to occupy the Philippines. Interestingly, Hiroo, along with three other men, spent 30 years of his life on the mountains of the Philippines even after the war had ended. He had received information on the cessation but thought it was a strategy from his enemy to have him believe they had lost, have him surrender, and capture him.

I fear that many times we find ourselves trying to fight a battle that Christ already won on the cross. Frequently, there are believers in Christ who attempt to secure their salvation; however, we see a different truth in the Word of God. Not having security in salvation produces results that are contrary to what God intends for us which began the moment Christ died on the cross -- such as peace with God, peace in our souls, peace in our homes, and peace in our relationships. Not having security in salvation also makes the believer in Christ obey God out of fear. God does not want us to serve because we are afraid, He wants us to do it out of love for Him. Fear also produces a false faith, making a person place their trust in salvation and in their own strengths to remain saved, making themselves their own savior, which is a flagrant heresy. A believer who lacks security in their salvation can easily begin to use fear as a weapon of manipulation.

The Fundamentals of Eternal Life

We have never deserved salvation. When salvation was given, we were separated from Him. Paul in Ephesians 2:1-2 expresses it in present participle form: you were dead, that’s to say when we received salvation, we were completely separated from it. We had been following this world, our flesh, and Satan, captivated to his will.

We were and continue to be unworthy of salvation. Eternal life is an act executed by God completely foreign to any human effort. Thus, salvation is possible for three attributes of the Father that Paul mentions in Ephesians, which give security in salvation:

A. His mercy: God, who is rich in mercy

B. His love: His great love for us

C. His grace: That in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace